


Cat's Paw

by InkyJustine



Series: Drakecest Week [1]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Animal Transformation, Blow Jobs, Drakecest Week, Fairy Tale Curses, First Time, M/M, Sibling Incest, True Love's Kiss, bottom nate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-14 12:01:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11782743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyJustine/pseuds/InkyJustine
Summary: The cat jumped. It wasn‘t a particularly small cat, and it barreling into Sam‘s chest made him stagger. He let out a pained shout when claws dug through his threadbare shirt and into his skin. Distantly he heard Sully shout for Nate to back down as Sam tried to wrestle the cat away from him.What the fuck?





	Cat's Paw

**Author's Note:**

> Drakecest Week: Day 1 - Random AUs

_There, at last._ The thought had darted through his mind unbidden. It had certainly taken him long enough––fifteen years––to get back to his brother‘s side. Well, _almost_ to his brother‘s side. A few steps and a door still kept them apart, and not for the first time Sam thought that maybe he should have called ahead.

Too late now.

While the taxi pulled away from the curb behind him, Sam watched the house in front of him. If he had wanted to break in he would have chosen a different place to get out of the car, of course. Maybe he should have gotten here a day earlier, get a feel for the life his little brother was leading now. His old contacts, those that were still in the business and willing to talk to an old acquaintance that had been behind bars for so long, had told him Nathan Drake had retired years ago. Sam didn‘t want to destroy that, even if he was dying to get back into the chase. Rafe had offered him threats and a great sum of money to go after Avery again, too.

But.

Sam wasn‘t about to do that without his brother. All of his fantasies in prison had involved Nathan and he wasn‘t about to tie up those loose ends without him, no matter how much of a tantrum Rafe had thrown. The guy had looked without any luck for it for fifteen years, he could wait another few weeks for Sam to sort things out after his impromptu and sudden freedom. Over a decade of forced inactivity had only made Sam more reluctant to force a risk. He had just gotten out––he wasn‘t ready to go back in already.

It had been so long. Too long, by far.

Did Nathan even still remember him? _Did he want Sam at his side, in his life?_ His contacts had told him about his little brother marrying some reporter, while others had talked about a break-up, but no divorce. No one seemed to be quite able to agree about what had happened, except that Nathan hadn‘t been heard from in several years, which could mean anything. Sam tried to calm down his unease about his little brother‘s fate by reminding himself of the fact that he had found his address and no death certificate.

Which wouldn‘t help of course if his brother had died in some ancient ruin somewhere, never to be seen again. He had heard stories...Nathan had become a bit of a legend. It had made Rafe furious even to speak of him. 

Sam let out a curse under his breath and made his feet move. „Alright Sam, time to stop being a chicken,“ he muttered, and turned his most charming smile at the neighbor lady when she walked past him and threw him a weird look. Quickly Sam suppressed the urge to wave at her. Most likely it wasn‘t going to make him look any more harmless. Sam was uncomfortably aware of how worn his clothes were, second hand, and Rafe had told him that if he was going to visit Nathan he would be doing so on his own money. However little there was of it.

„Prick,“ Sam muttered. This time no strange looks were thrown his way, but then in a little suburban area like this you could never be sure who was watching you from the windows; picket-fence life. Sam wouldn‘t have thought that his little brother _wanted_ something like this. All those well-kept front-yards and spotless paint. Belatedly, Sam wondered again if he should have called ahead after all. But then he would have ruined the surprise. He pushed down the thought that, without calling ahead, Nathan couldn‘t tell him not to come.

With brisk determination, he set one foot in front of the other. His thoughts were running wild and only with difficulty he managed to sort through them. Rafe would expect him back sometime. No problem there. The difficult thing would be to convince Nathan to join him, despite his wife. If Nathan was still alive. His heart lurched at the thought.

_No._

Nathan was alive. He had to be. Dropping off the face of the planet was one way to get the criminal world off your back after all.

_Married._

Sam hoped that he wasn‘t about to be faced with a niece. Or nephew. Bad enough he was going to meet a wife. Sam clamped down on that particular train of thought––it wasn‘t about to lead him anywhere. She had what Sam wanted. It was as easy as that. Or as complicated. There had never been a chance for him and Nathan anyway. That was a fact he would have to remind himself of, again. In solitary he had had too much time to fantasize about the opposite.

He rang the bell and waited. For a whole long while nothing happened. Only when he had rung the bell half a dozen times did footsteps finally come closer, stopping in front of the door. Sam‘s stomach plunged at seeing, briefly, gray hair at the window beside the entrance. Unless Nathan had _really_ aged in the last several years, he wasn‘t here, but all the more surprised was he at who he saw instead.

„Victor Sullivan?“ Sam asked, trying and failing to keep the shock out of his voice. At the same time he felt himself steadying again. A visit from an old friend, nothing more. A friend to Nathan at least. Victor and him had never been able to see eye to eye. Sam strained his ears to make out voices further inside the house, but there was only the sound of the TV. Did his little brother get a job? Was he at work? A normal one?

„I‘ll be goddamned,“ Sully said. The same surprise was mirrored on his face at Sam presence. „Sam.“ He nodded and Sam took his hand when Sully held it out to him. „It‘s good to see you again.“

„Victor,“ Sam said with a nod of his own. He let go of Sully‘s hand and tried not to let his impatience show. „I wanted to see Nathan. Is he in?“ If this was a family thing it was bound to be awkward. What was the wife‘s family going to think at suddenly being faced with another in-law? 

„Ah,“ Sully said, which did nothing to put Sam at ease. Quite the opposite in fact.

„Is he in or not?“ Sam‘s voice came out sharp, as if he was looking for a fight. 

When Sully only looked down either direction of the street instead of answering, Sam felt about ready to punch him in the face. He shifted his weight, noticeably, and Sully waved him inside.

„It‘s a little hard to explain and better not explained on the doorstep,“ he said. How ominous.

Sam followed him inside and closed the door. The house was big––his little brother must have gotten quite a bit of loot from his adventures to be able to afford this. Despite himself, Sam felt proud. Nathan had reached places Sam had only been able to dream about for them both. A house like this had been part of their childhood, more so Sam‘s than Nathan‘s, and it was doubtful if Nathan could still remember where they had lived. It had been sold when their mother died and their father moved away, leaving them behind. Seeing this house, so clearly lived-in, made Sam almost homesick for something he hadn‘t had in forever, but here and there were signs of things missing. A picture and gaps where there could have been furniture once. If only he and Nathan could have made it this far together.

„So what aren‘t you telling me?“ Sam asked when they moved along the corridor and into the living room. „Where’s Nathan?“

„Listen, Sam, about your brother-“

Sam‘s eyes slid away from Sully when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. A cat had appeared in the doorway to the corridor that they had just moved through, probably it had come down the stairs Sam had seen. It was colored a reddish-brown and looked up and froze when it saw Sam. He had just enough time to think that he hadn‘t taken his little brother for a cat person before things got _weird_.

Sully let out a warning sound at seeing the cat, Sam opened his mouth--

The cat jumped. It wasn‘t a particularly small cat, and it barreling into Sam‘s chest made him stagger. He let out a pained shout when claws dug through his threadbare shirt and into his skin. Distantly he heard Sully shout for Nate to back down as he wrestled the cat away from him.

Finally Sam held the yowling cat at arm‘s length. The fight seemed to have gone out of it. It was just... hanging there, crying something pitiful.

„What the fuck are you talking about, Victor?“

„Remember when I said it was hard to explain?“ Sully said and Sam watched him sit down on the couch.

The cat had finally stopped the noise, but when Sam looked back at it, it whined and wiggled in his grip. „Cut to the chase, old man,“ Sam said. Warily, he eyed the cat. His shirt now had a few more holes than before and the scratches were beginning to sting.

Sully gestured to the cat. „That‘s your brother.“

„You‘re kidding me,“ Sam deadpanned. Under his gaze the cat squirmed further, yowling softly once more until Sam relented and moved it closer to his chest. This time it didn‘t try to scratch him. Instead, it put its’ arms around Sam‘s neck as good as it was able. Sam let out a soft noise of his own before supporting its’ backside with both hands.

„Are you calling me a liar?“ Sully asked, but there was no heat to his words. He looked tired suddenly, or more tired than before.

Sam turned towards him again and tried to tower over him despite a cat hanging onto him as if he was a lifeline. „You‘re telling me my brother is a cat?“ At his voice the cat let out a meow, as if in agreement. „How is that supposed to work?“

„Sit down and I can try to explain, Sam.“ Now there was an edge to his voice. Had Sam not wanted to find out where he could find his brother, he would have argued, but instead he sat down as he was told and swallowed down the sharp reply that was on the tip of his tongue. At least holding the cat got more comfortable once he was seated.

„We were in Egypt, trying to find an old ruin,“ Sully started, eyes on the cat that finally moved back a little, resting on it‘s hind paws on Sam‘s lap, paws still on his shoulders. It‘s fur was soft and Sam followed his desire to pet it, tiny purrs rocking through the small body in front of him.

„We found it, too, Nate, Elena and I, found some treasure and an artifact.“ At that Sully stopped with a sigh. „Nate touched it, a small cat figurine and a moment later he turned into this cat.“

For a moment Sam gathered his thoughts. „So you‘re telling me that magic is real? Curses?“ He saw Sully nod out of the corner of his eyes.

„Happened a few years ago. We haven‘t found a way to break it yet.“

„Nathan?“ Sam said and the cat trilled. „You want me to believe this,“ here, he shook the cat slightly which teased an annoyed noise out of it, “is Nathan.“

„You better believe it,“ Sully sighed, he looked about as happy as Sam felt. This changed everything.

„Did you try a kiss?“ Sam deadpanned and was surprised at the way Sully‘s face fell at his question and how the cat, _Nathan_ , wiggled out of his arms to hide under the couch. It had just been a joke. _Curses._ Those couldn‘t possibly be real.

„Yeah,“ Sully shifted and looked up at the ceiling. „It was supposed to be the break to the curse, according to the inscription, but when Elena tried it...“ he trailed off and sighed wearily. „It didn‘t work.“

„So where is she now?“ Sam said. He could already guess the answer and felt a sharp pang in his chest, if from dread or some twisted happiness he couldn‘t tell. 

„She... left.“ Sully shifted again as if he was just dying to get up and pace. „Their relationship was already falling apart.“ His face twisted into a sad grimace. „I guess that was the final nail.“

„She just left her husband ‘cause he was a cat?“ Sam growled. To have someone do _that_ to his little brother. Whatever happened to ‘till death do us part‘? A paw swiped weakly at his ankle from underneath the couch.

„We tried for over two years to find a way to break the curse,“ Sully snapped back and finally did get to his feet. Sam‘s gaze followed him around the room as he paced.

„What else did you try?“ Sam asked and listened as Sully rattled down the list. Then they lapsed into silence, the only sound Sully‘s muffled steps on the carpet.

After a while they started talking about other things, catching up on old times. Nathan crawled back out and Sam‘s heart clenched when he curled up on Sam‘s lap. His little body vibrated underneath his palm when he went back to petting him.

„Time for bed,“ Sully said a few hours later. „You can sleep on the couch. Feel free to raid the fridge.“

„Thanks dad,“ Sam deadpanned and moved to pick Nathan up before standing. Nathan jumped to the floor. „Don‘t like being carried, huh?“ Sam asked. Blue eyes turned up to him and he meowed in answer, but he followed them up the stairs.

„Here‘s the bedding,“ Sully said. „I would offer you the guest room, but I‘m sleeping in there.“

„No offense, but I don‘t think I want to share with you.“

Sully scoffed. „Right back at ya. There‘s Nate‘s bedroom as well, though I‘m sure he wouldn‘t mind.“

As if on cue Nathan rubbed up against Sam‘s ankle, then stopped with a befuddled expression on his face and darted away.

„That was weird. Is he alright?“ Sam asked. He already knew the answer.

„Being a cat is hard for him,“ Sully only said. „Some new instincts and all that, but it seems to still be him inside.“ Sam shuddered and took the blankets that Sully handed him. They said goodnight.

Nathan was nowhere to be seen when Sam walked back into the living room and he suppressed the urge to call for him. Most likely he had hid somewhere or he had to go pee or some other thing a little cat did. Sam shook his head. His little brother was a _cat_.

But it wasn‘t the only thing that felt weird, he mused while getting his sleeping space ready. After prison he had slept in hotels, thanks to Rafe, and now was the first time in fifteen years that he actually had a a place to sleep for himself, nowhere to be in the morning. It was so...domestic it rubbed him the wrong way. He would have to get used to it again.

And break his brother‘s curse. For one, it wasn‘t right for Nathan to be a cat or anything else that wasn‘t _him_ , and on the other _he couldn‘t take a cat to find Avery‘s treasure._ He only felt a little guilty for thinking like that. Maybe tomorrow he would have a clearer idea on how to help Nathan. Sully had to have another idea, some kind of lead. Holding on to that thought he undressed down to his shirt and boxers and brushed his teeth in the bathroom.

When he climbed into his make-shift bed, Nathan appeared again and curled back on top of him. „I don‘t think I can sleep like this,“ Sam said gently and poked the cat, which only let out a trill of complaint, but didn‘t budge. His fur was so soft underneath Sam‘s hand that he couldn‘t help but pet him again.

 

The next morning Sully shook him awake. Sam blearily looked up at him, distantly wondering how he could have fallen asleep so deeply that Sully out of all people could just sneak up on him without waking him. Some time during the night Nathan had slipped into the crack between Sam and the back of the couch and now he climbed back out to sit on Sam‘s belly.

„You‘re already dressed?“ Sam asked stupidly. Only now did he notice that there was a packed bag sitting beside him on the floor as well. It wasn‘t his, that was for sure. „You‘re leaving?“

Sully let out a sigh and petted Nathan, who let out a mournful yowl. „I‘m sorry, boyo. There are some people I want to contact, see what they know, but I need to do that in person.“

Nathan let out another yowl and snapped at Sully‘s hand when he made to scratch underneath his chin. „I‘m sorry, Nate,“ Sully said again. Regret swung in his voice. Then he turned to Sam. „You better take care of him.“

„I will,“ Sam said and followed Sully to the door. As if there was any chance that he wouldn‘t. „You‘re sure about this? That was an awfully quick decision.“

„Don‘t start,“ Sully said tiredly, „I can‘t travel with a cat or I would have done so sooner, but I can‘t just let a stranger keep Nate company either.“

„So that‘s my job now?“ Sam asked and recoiled at the angry look Sully shot him.

„You‘re his big brother! Yes, it is your job now,“ Sully snapped. Sam hung his head and nodded. What a great way to start the day.

„Any idea on when you‘ll be back?“ It didn‘t feel good to see Sully shake his head.

„I‘ll try to make it quick.“

Sam watched him walk down the driveway to the street where a taxi was already waiting. When the car was gone, Sam closed the door and returned to the living room where Nathan still sat on the couch. His whole posture all but screamed sadness and dejection. Sam lowered himself onto the cushion beside him and started to stroke his head and down his back.

„Sully didn‘t mean anything by it,“ Sam awkwardly said. „He just wants to help you.“

The cat didn‘t say anything, not even letting out another yowl.

„You know, your couch is awful. My back hurts. Once we‘ve got you back in your old body we‘ll get a new one,“ Sam said. The distraction didn‘t work––he hadn‘t thought so, anyway.

„Hey are you hungry?“

Nathan didn‘t protest when Sam picked him up this time and laid him against his shoulder, cradling him. If anything, his little body curled against Sam, he could feel the tip of his tail beating restlessly against his side.

„Sully will come back,“ Sam assured him. Nathan let out a little meow and Sam opened the fridge. „What can you eat? I can‘t say I know a lot about cats.“ Giving his little brother cat food would feel wrong, that much was for sure. One-handed he picked out the ingredients for a sandwich from inside the fridge and laid it out on the counter. Then he picked up one of the containers he found. They were labeled cat food. He opened one and sniffed it. Sam was no expert, but it looked like it was self-made. Mostly it seemed to be meat. He laid one of the containers beside his own food and closed the fridge again.

„Alright, Nathan, I need both my arms for this,“ Sam said and set Nathan down on top of the table. The cat watched him as he prepared a sandwich and heated up the cat food until it was lukewarm.

„You know, Nathan,“ Sam said when he set both their plates on the table and sat down, „when I got out of prison I didn‘t imagine this happening.“

Nathan let out a distracted noise as he gobbled up the food. Sam savored his and they ate in silence. It was a little hard to make conversation with a cat anyway. Jesus, Sam wasn‘t sure he was ever going to get used to this. He didn‘t _want_ to get used to this. Not to a brother stuck as a freaking _cat_. On top of that it was strange to be in a stranger‘s home. In _Nathan‘s_ home, who shouldn‘t be a stranger, but fifteen years without contact was a tad too long to stay familiar. Sam didn‘t know this house. He had never been here, Nathan hadn‘t invited him after he had moved in, and now Nathan was hardly in any shape to show him around or catch him up on the last few years. Sully had done the best he could, but it wasn‘t enough. In prison Sam had fantasized even about these mundane things.

In front of him licked Nathan his snout and jumped off the table, lingering in the door frame until Sam put his plate away and after a moment of indecision washed it. It wasn‘t his home and it felt wrong to leave clutter lying around. For his brother he could at least try being a good guest.

For a moment Sam stood, trying to decide what to _do_. In prison he may have done push-ups to spend the time, or play a round of cards, but that seemed impolite to start digging through his brother‘s things to find a deck. Usually, if his brother was present, it wouldn‘t be a problem, or if he _wasn‘t_ present, but...the cat stared at him. Then Nathan let out a meow and Sam sighed.

„What are we going to do?“ Sam asked. He didn‘t really expect an answer, but Nathan meowed again. Then he turned on his heel––paw––and moved over to the couch, jumping on top of it.

He turned his head, first to the TV and back to Sam, looking expectant. At least Sam thought it was expectant. It was hard to tell on a cat‘s face.

Sam sighed again. Yeah. Yesterday he had thought he would simply go see how his little brother was doing. The only problem had been figuring out how to get him to join in on Avery‘s treasure. Breaking a curse had not been part of the plan.

„Watching TV? Really?“ Sam teased and sat down beside his brother, _who was a cat_ , his mind only slightly hysterically pointed out. As if that part could have changed between now and yesterday. Nathan nudged the remote towards him and after a moment of fumbling Sam managed to get the TV turned on. He was faced with a menu, not a regular channel.

„What the hell is Netflix?“ Sam asked, aware that he was not likely to get an actual answer beyond a meow. Sure enough, Nathan let out a meow and nudged Sam, laying a paw on his arm. He seemed unsure of what to do after, which Sam couldn‘t fault him for. So Sam started switching around inside the menu until he found what looked like a movie to watch. Nathan curled up a little more comfortably beside him, eyes fixed on the screen, and after a moment of hesitation he reached down and started stroking his fur again.

Several hours later, Sam was almost dozing. Vaguely, he felt like taking a shower, or a bath, but he felt reluctant to leave Nathan‘s side. Outside the sun had dipped past the horizon––Sam hadn‘t even noticed the time passing. With a grunt he detangled himself from Nathan, who had managed to lie down across his whole torso and went into the kitchen to make himself a meal. When Nathan followed him, he set out a plate for him as well.

Afterwards he readied himself for bed. He felt _tired_ and he hadn‘t even _done_ anything. Prison had been similar. You got tired out of sheer boredom. But today he hadn‘t been bored. He had actually enjoyed himself, even if his mind had turned to Avery and Rafe more than once. He couldn‘t just leave Nathan behind.

Clad back in his sleepwear, he laid down on the couch, yelping when Nathan used that moment to nip his leg.

„Hey, watch it, Nathan!“ Sam said, pulling his leg away when Nathan made to bite him again. „What the hell is wrong with you? Beside the obvious,“ Sam added.

Nathan meowed.

„Speak up, I can‘t understand you,“ Sam said sarcastically. He couldn‘t be sure, but it looked as if Nathan rolled his eyes. Then he turned on his paw and moved to the door. Once there he turned back and walked to Sam‘s side once more before going back to the door.

„Follow me, alright I _get_ it,“ Sam said when Nathan made to repeat what he was doing.

Nathan led him up the stairs and down the corridor to, if Sam remembered Sully telling him correctly, his own bedroom. There he jumped up on the bedding and watched Sam come closer.

„Want me to sleep in your bed, mh?“ Sam asked and scratched his brother behind the ears. The cat blinked at him. It had gotten warmer over the day, so Sam stripped out of his shirt. „Are you sure you don‘t want me to sleep in the guest bedroom?“ Sam said and Nathan shook his head. „You‘re the boss, I guess.“

With a sigh Sam crawled under the bedding. After years of misuse it didn‘t smell like his brother anymore, or at least not the way he remembered his brother smelling. Sense memory was failing him. If at all it probably only smelled like Nathan‘s wife. Sam made himself stop thinking about it.

„You know, this is the first time since prison I‘m sleeping in an actual bed,“ Sam sighed, which was a lie. He had slept in beds, in hotels. It wasn‘t the same as a bed in a house though, in his brother‘s house no less. He pushed the sheet down to his waist and laid his hands behind his head. At Nathan‘s questioning noise he continued, „well I did sleep in beds of course, but usually it was something Rafe paid for, or later some cheap motel.“ Again he sighed. „This is much better.“

He felt Nathan step over the bedding towards him, suddenly letting out a low, sad whine, startling Sam.

„What‘s wrong, Nathan?“ Sam unhooked his hands from behind his head to reach for his brother, who let out another noise of distress. He was staring at Sam‘s belly, or more specifically his scars.

„Hey, sh, Nathan,“ Sam said helplessly and pulled the cat against his side, which put Nathan closer to the old wounds. Then he watched Nathan, carefully, step on his lower belly, below the scars and Sam hissed when his brother only narrowly missed stepping on his junk. Nathan let out a meow and Sam let out a startled laugh when his tongue darted out and roughly swiped over the scars.

„You don‘t have to kiss it better,“ Sam teased, „they‘ve been healed for a while already. They don‘t hurt.“

Again, Nathan let out a whine and licked over the wounds that had cost Sam almost his life. Sam shushed him and pulled him more securely against him.

„It‘s fine, I‘m fine. I promise.“

**Author's Note:**

> I have a thing for Animal Transformation, alright? A thiiiing!


End file.
